Joel Coen couldn't be bothered to speak more than, oh, 40 seconds at tonight's USC Scripter Award ceremony before taking his seat at stage left and finishing his meal.  But I guess it makes sense that he'd keep things brief, sense he scooted on out of the Doheny Library in order to go accept another award -- the PGA's highest honor -- and the third major guild win for "No Country for Old Men."

Ethan Coen, by the way, was "on the tarmac," according to Coen's presenter.  Maybe that was just a joke, but perhaps Ethan may have been either en route or already at the PGA ceremony.  Whatever the case, Joel was there as sole representation for the film.

Cormac McCarthy wasn't in attendance, though that is no shock, seeing as the author's only public appearance in support of the film has been an interview on "Oprah" and a showcase in Time Magazine.  Christine Lahti graciously accepted on his behalf, struggling with the teleprompter all along.  But hey, she wasn't alone on that front.

Then again, by all accounts, the evening's festivities were a major step up from years past, with Jason Alexander taking over for Henry Winkler as the Master of Ceremonies.  Alexander was actually a hell of an emcee, full of more than a few guffaw-enducing zingers and keeping the mood light and breezy enough throughout.  And, God bless him, one solitary strike joke and that was it (though talk was lingering through the crowd, including a long-gestating rumor that the whole nightmare will be over within the week).  Depending on how much the Friends of the USC Libraries are willing to allow their host to poke fun at the organization, I could see Alexander being a staple.  We'll see.

Steven Zaillian later accepted the Literary Achievement Award, by the way, which he said he would like to please refrain from calling a "lifetime achievement award."  Zaillian is a three-time Scripter winner, for "Awakenings" in 1990, "Schindler's List" in 1993 and "A Civil Action" in 1998.  A true vet with the group.

Oh, and students from the university's school of music performed a lovely melody of scores from past Scripet winners.  I picked out "L.A. Confidential" and "Schindler's List" immediately.  The others kind of blurred together, but they sure sounded great.

I'll try to upload a mp3 of Coen's speech if I can, but in the meantime, you can actually check out the entire ceremony for yourself at the USC website.  They held a live webcast, and of course, it isn't the most professional of things, but they're on their way.  Biggest "doh!" moment of the night had to be the use of the logo for "The Zodiac," rather than the logo for the film that was actually nominated.  Two completely different films, folks.

Here's a couple of shots from the ceremony.  I'm no photo journalist, mind you, but I try:

•  Sasha Stone ponderst he year's PGA competition. [Awards Daily]

•  Anne Thompson comments on the box office success of "Juno," which just flew past $100 million domestic. [Thompson on Hollywood]

•  Jeffrey Wells is more concerned with Campaign '08 than Oscar talk lately.  Fair enough. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

•  Jim Brooks recounts the deserving contnders Oscar has ignored throughout the years. [The Envelope]

•  Tom O'Neil responds to the Academy's "Plan B" for the ceremony, should it come to that. [Gold Derby]

•  T.L. Stanley, meanwhile, responds to AMPAS prexy Sid Ganis' first ever video blog.  [Gold Rush]

•  Nathaniel Rogers writes up the documentary shorts. [The Film Experience]

•  David Poland has fun with the alphbetical listing of the year's Best Picture nominees, pointing "Michael Clayton" out as the middle-of-the-road, perhaps utimately consensus contender.  [Movie City News]

•  An attempt at making sense of it all, post-guilds and with a week to go. [In Contention]

•  Is "I drink your milshake" an anachronism in "There Will Be Blood?"  Apparently not. Thanks haeavens we have Jeffrey Wells on the case of stuff like this.  What would we do otherwise? [Hollywood Elsewhere]

•  Texas State University gets in ona ll that Cormac McCarthy love. [Assciated Press via Hollywood Reporter]

•  Pete Hammond reports that an unusual amount of Academy members waited until the last minute to submit ballots this year...and that Joe Wright gets naked when he wins an award. [The Envelope]

•  Tom O'Neil gets into the campaign shift for "Juno" star Ellen Page, away from the cheeky and toward the serious. [Gold Derby]

•  Nathaniel Rogers responds to yesterday's PGA announcement. [The Film Experience]

•  T.L. Stanley does the same. [Gold Rush]

•  David Carr writes up a requiem for the Golden Globes ceremony at the Gray Lady. [New York Times]

•  Earlier, he partners up with Michael Cieply for a full rundown of the tragedy. [New York Times]

•  You can find the Oscar season anywhere, folks.  Anywhere.  Well, if you're obssessed and/or look hard enough. [Vulture]

•  There's hope for relapsing fashionistas yet! [USA Today]

The Producers Guild of America announced its list of nominees this morning, but there weren't many surprises in store for those hoping to start the week off with a little film awards excitement.

In the midst of box office dominance, Fox Searchlight's "Juno" received a rather expected notice as the film continues its march toward $100 million, while "Michael Clayton," a bona-fide contender as the guilds continue to embrace it, grabbed a notice as well.

Producer Scott Rudin went 2 for 2 today, as Miramax's "No Country for Old Men" and Paramount Vantage's There Will be Blood" received tips of the hat.  The former became the Coen brothers' highest grossing film over the weekend, so it should come as no surprise that the PGA would want to recognize it.  This becomes the 8th guild nomination for "No Country," the clear stand-out in the precursor season.

The real surprise, to some, anyway, would have to be "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" showing up on the list.  But given that Hollywood heavy-hitters Kathleen Kennedy and Jon Kilik are behind the scenes on this one, it really shouldn't come as a major shock.

Surprising omissions included "Into the Wild," "Sweney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" and, if you buy the line of logic that the PGA respects the green, "Hairspray."

And the nominees are:

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR AWARD IN THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES
"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Miramax)
"Juno" (Fox Searchlight)
"Michael Clayton" (Warner Bros.)
"No Country for Old Men" (Miramax/Paramount Vantage)
"There Will Be Blood" (Paramount Vantage/Miramax)

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR AWARD IN ANIMATED THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES
"Bee Movie" (Dreamworks Animation)
"Ratatouille" (Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation)
"The Simpsons Movie" (20th Century FOX)

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR AWARD IN DOCUMENTARY THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES
"Body Of War" (Phil Donahue Productions/Mobilus Media)
"Hear And Now" (HBO)
"Pete Seeger: The Power Of Song" (The Weinstein Company)
"Sicko" (The Weinstein Company)
"White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction Of Hiroshima And Nagasaki" (HBO)

THE DAVID L. WOLPER PRODUCER OF THE YEAR AWARD IN LONG-FORM TELEVISION
"Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee" (HBO)
"The Bronx Is Burning" (ESPN)
"High School Musical 2" (The Disney Channel)
"Jane Eyre" (PBS/BBC)
"The Starter Wife" (USA Network)